Superstar From Age 0

“So, what's the plan?”

Ji-ho asked with a surprised face, as he learned that three out of the four people who came with him would stay in Paris, France for two weeks.

“Are you going to travel alone?”

To be precise, he was with his bodyguards, but.

Seo-jun, who was regretting missing the film festival that was going on in Paris (it ended the day before they arrived), shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“No. I'm also planning to stay in Paris for two weeks. There's a concert by Jason in about two weeks, and I'm going to wait for that.”

Originally, he planned to visit other countries and then go to England after watching Jason Moore's concert in France, but it turned out like this.

“Are you not going to be bored for two weeks? How do you feel about being the only one here?”

Ji-ho said to Seo-jun, who would spend a lonely time among his busy friends for two weeks. Seo-jun smiled and answered.

“It's okay. I have friends in France, and the concert is in two weeks, but Jason's team is coming earlier.”

To be exact, Jason Moore's concert in Paris, France was a total of four times, and the performance that Seo-jun and his friends were planning to watch was the last one of the European tour.

The other three performances were earlier, so Jason Moore and his team had to come a few days earlier to check out the concert hall and practice.

“They’ll arrive in Paris in about four days after we arrive. It's been a long time since I've seen him, so it would be nice to spend more time with him.”

Seo-jun and Jason were both busy with their work, so they hadn't seen each other for a while.

‘I keep in touch with him, but it's different to meet him in person.’

He brought a gift from Korea.

“Doesn't he have to practice before the concert? Do you have time to meet?”

Seo-jun nodded at Ji-ho's question.

He would be in the same city for about ten days, but since it was the end of the tour, Jason Moore would not be negligent in his preparations, so Seo-jun was still free.

“It's okay. Professor Benjamin is also there. I contacted him and he said he was happy.”

The three children and Kim Tae-ju, who were eating jjimdak, listened to the conversation between Seo-jun and Ji-ho. Ji-woo, Mina, and Ji-yoon had heard about Seo-jun's schedule in Korea, so they didn't join the conversation.

Ji-ho frowned for a moment and then nodded his head.

“I don't mind if you’re okay with it, but…”

He imagined Seo-jun being alone while the others were wandering around with excited faces, and he felt a little worried. Ji-woo put down his spoon and said.

“We talked about it too, and Seo-jun said he was comfortable with it. He said it would be fun to travel leisurely like living for a month.”

Living for a month, spending the day at tourist attractions like a local.

“Seo-jun can really live like a local.”

Mina imagined Seo-jun sitting in a cafe in Paris under the warm sun and enjoying his time, and said with a smile in her voice. Ji-yoon added.

“And I'm going to the international book fair with him, so you don't have to worry too much.”

“Right. I'm not a kid.”

The kids laughed at Seo-jun's words.

***

A little later.

The kids who finished the dishes gathered in the living room. Agent Kim Tae-ju had received Seo-jun's autograph and returned home.

“So, what are we going to do tomorrow?”

Seo-jun and the kids took out the pamphlets they brought from the airport and the information they got from Korea, and talked about their Barcelona travel itinerary.

“We’re going to go to Catalonia Square first, and then see Guel's mansion and the cathedrals.”

“We’re also going to watch an opera at the Liceu Theater in the evening.”

“I don't have to tell you who came up with that idea.”

The kids laughed as Ji-ho's eyes turned to Seo-jun, and Seo-jun shrugged his shoulders calmly. Ji-woo asked Ji-ho.

“What about the day after tomorrow? You have a game, right? What time is it?”

“4 o’clock.”

“Then we can look around a little before that.”

Seo-jun and the kids started to plan their route, looking at the Barcelona attractions. Ji-ho also chipped in.

“Yawn.”

Ji-yoon yawned in the middle of talking about where to go tomorrow.

It was still early for him in Korea, but he was tired from flying for 13 hours and having a 7-hour time difference.

Seo-jun looked at the clock on the wall and opened his mouth.

“Shall we go to bed now?”

“Yeah. Let's do that.”

Mina and Ji-woo also nodded their heads with a slightly tired face.

“See you tomorrow.”

“Good night.”

Mina and Ji-yoon headed to their room, and Seo-jun and the twins headed to their room. There was a bunk bed and a regular bed.

“Ji-ho, you go there.”

“Yeah. Park Ji-ho, you go there.”

Seo-jun and Ji-woo pointed to the regular bed without hesitation.

The narrow bunk bed was too dangerous for Park Ji-ho, who had an important match in two days. Park Ji-ho accepted it humbly and lay down on the bed.

“Ji-woo, where do you want to sleep?”

“Anywhere is fine.”

“Then I’ll sleep on the top bunk.”

“Okay.”

Ji-woo nodded at Seo-jun's words.

The kids changed into comfortable clothes and lay down on the bed.

The blankets were clean and fluffy, as if they were well maintained.

Ji-woo fell asleep quickly in the cozy bed, and only Seo-jun and Ji-ho, who were used to the time difference and lived here, talked with each other in the light coming in through the window.

“So I bought the wrong thing, you know. The letters looked similar, but it was totally different.”

“Haha. Really? You should look carefully before you buy.”

“But I did it again a few days ago.”

Seo-jun smiled softly as he listened to Ji-ho's voice, who was happily telling him about his daily life that he couldn't convey enough through messages.

***

The morning in Barcelona, spain, dawned.

The kids were in good condition, thanks to going to bed early.

They packed their bags for sightseeing today and said goodbye to their bodyguards and Ji-ho, who was leaving for training, and then moved on.

On the way to the first place, catalonia Square.

There were buildings in Gothic style that were rare to see in Korea on both sides of the street, and it felt like walking on a street in a movie.

“Let's take a picture!”

Mina held up the camera and smiled brightly.

Seo-jun and the kids took pictures of each other and asked a Korean tourist who passed by to take a picture of them together. The tourist was very enthusiastic about taking the picture, so they shared the Spanish snacks (recommended: Park Ji-ho) they brought as snacks.

“They came out really well.”

“They’ll love it if we send this to mom and dad. Right?”

That's how Seo-jun and the kids started their Barcelona trip.

The cathedrals that stood high as if to pierce the sky, the old-looking buildings made of bricks, the streets, the Spanish market that resembled the Korean market but had a slightly different vibe, the music hall with stained glass on the walls and ceiling, and the triumphal arch built by Napoleon.

“Wow…”

“It's huge.”

It was a strange and exciting feeling to be in the places they had only seen in pictures.

The kids kept admiring the scenery with bright faces, eating the snacks they bought from the food map (Barcelona edition) and the ones recommended by Ji-ho and Kim Tae-ju. Of course, they didn't forget to take pictures.

“Thank you!”

“We’ll take a picture for you too!”

They felt a sense of familiarity with the Koreans they occasionally met among the many tourists, and took pictures for each other. Seo-jun, who was not a director, but knew more than anyone about the camera angles, held the camera.

“Oh my…! Are you majoring in photography?”

“This is a life shot. A life shot. Thank you!”

They were pictures that made them exclaim involuntarily. Seo-jun and the kids felt proud as they saw the surprised tourists.

“It's already evening.”

The kids looked up at the sky as Mina said, while they were heading to the Liceu Theater, the last schedule for today. The bright sky was gradually darkening.

“Right. When did the time pass so fast?”

“Oh. The street lights are on.”

As Seo-jun said, the kids looked around. The lights that were installed on the buildings and tourist attractions began to turn on one by one.

The slowly descending darkness and the lights that illuminated it changed the street and the landscape into a completely different feeling than before.

“It's beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

As the music played by the street musicians added to the atmosphere, it felt like a scene from a movie.

They watched the darkening sky and the surrounding scenery for a while, and then Seo-jun and the kids started to move again. They planned to have dinner at a restaurant near the Liceu Theater.

“Ji-ho, do you want to pack something to eat?”

Ji-yoon asked as the food came up on the table one by one, and Ji-ho shook his head.

“It's not good to eat something spicy all of a sudden before the game. I have to eat as usual for the sake of my condition on the game day.”

“Oh, right.”

They thought of Ji-ho, who would be nervous for tomorrow's game, as they saw the delicious-looking food. Seo-jun and Mina felt the same.

“Let's eat together after the game.”

Seo-jun's words made Mina and Ji-yoon nod their heads. Ji-ho's voice came out.

“If we win, it's a party, and if we lose…”

Before he finished his sentence, Mina and Ji-yoon slapped Ji-ho's back. Seo-jun laughed at Ji-woo, who was cold to her brother.

They had a delicious dinner, and then Seo-jun and the kids watched an opera at the Liceu Theater, which had a stage and a center that was open, and headed to their accommodation.

“Did you enjoy it?”

Park Ji-ho, who was wearing comfortable clothes, greeted the kids. Seo-jun, Ji-yoon, and Mina smiled brightly. Ji-woo felt a bit gloomy, as if she had come to Korea.

“How's your foot?”

“Perfect!”

Park Ji-ho snapped his right foot, which had been bandaged.

“I did well in training today. The coach praised me. How about you? Did you have fun?”

Seo-jun and the kids showed him the pictures they took today and chatted. Park Ji-ho also laughed as he remembered the streets he had visited on his days off.

“The theater, it was so wide and high.”

“It looked like a theater from a movie.”

The Liceu Theater in the pictures taken by Ji-yoon and Mina was full of splendid decorations.

“It had six floors, and we went to the sixth floor after the opera. It was dizzying to look down.”

“Which floor did you watch from?”

“Fourth floor! It was a great seat in the center.”

The five kids sat around the living room and talked loudly, filling up the time they couldn't talk yesterday because they went to bed early. They ate snacks and chatted happily.

Ring.

Park Ji-ho, who was laughing at the episode of [Chicks in the Forest] that Seo-jun told him, reached for his ringing phone.

-Kim Tae-ju: You know you have a game tomorrow, right?

-Kim Tae-ju: Go to bed early.

“Ah… I forgot.”

He felt too comfortable and familiar, as if he was in Korea.

The kids who thought the same thing looked at each other's faces. And they burst into laughter.

They all seemed to have the same thought, as they made expressions of surprise.

***

[Actor Lee Seo-jun's friend, soccer player Park Ji-ho, plays today!]

[Park Ji-ho, barcelona FC B, starts the promotion game at 4 p.m. (local time) today!]

[The promotion game will be broadcast at 11 p.m. (Korean time) today!]

[From the third league to the second league? Can they make it!]

-Wow. Are they broadcasting it? I've only seen Park Ji-ho's games on the internet so far.

=22 They usually don't, but it's amazing.

=It's probably because of Park Ji-ho + promotion game. You can tell from the articles. It's enough to be a hot topic.

=And there's Lee Seo-jun…

=I’ll watch it out of curiosity??

-If they win, they go up from the third league to the second league, right?

=??? Park Ji-ho entered as a third league player and will play in the second league.

=Don't underestimate the second league. They have to face the teams that fell from the first league. If the second league teams get promoted, they become first league teams.

=Then if the B team gets promoted from the second league, they’ll face Barcelona's first team? That would be really fun.

=?? They can't go up.

=Even if they're first?

=?? Even if they're first. They’re from the same club, so they can't go up at all.

=Then they’ll take the players. To the first team.

-Will Park Ji-ho go to the first team?

=I don't know, we’ll have to wait and see, but he has potential.

=Well, I don't know if he has potential, he's doing too well right now… It seems like his current skill is all he has.

=22 Just right for the second and third league.

=He's still young. He's only 20 years old. 19 by Korean age. He can still improve his skills.

=Park Ji-ho lived in Korea for 20 years and only experienced European soccer for half a year. There are kids who go to Europe in elementary and middle school and just come back. How do you think Park Ji-ho will do?

=That's unknown. Didn't the experts judge and take him?

=Even if they're experts, they can't know everything. There are so many promising players who go and fail. Who knows if Park Ji-ho will be one of them.

-11 o’clock is good. It's hard to watch foreign soccer at dawn.

=22 I’ll watch it while eating chicken.

=33 My family hates watching TV late at night, but if I say he's Lee Seo-jun's friend, they’ll probably sit down and watch it with me.

=44 ??True?? They’ll say, who's Lee Seo-jun's friend? And watch it.